I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Born in the third year of Kansei (1791), he is now 72 years old, seven years older than Otani Seiichiro, who was born in the tenth year of Kansei (1798).

In February of the second year of Ansei (1855), he was invited by the shogunate to serve as the head of the Kōbō-shō (Military Academy) along with Otani Seiichirō.

Compared to Seiichiro Otani, who is famous for his "unparalleled strength," Kiyone Kubota's identity is that of "unmatched erudition and talent."

He was born into a family of hatamoto (traditional Japanese military officers). His grandfather, Katsutora Kubota, and his father, Katsunaga Kubota, were both equestrian archers.

In resource-scarce Japan, maize is a very rare resource.

Horses were already scarce, and because Japanese horses were generally small and most could only be used for carrying goods, horses suitable for riding and fighting were even more scarce.

During the Edo period, only wealthy high-ranking samurai families were qualified to ride horses and could afford to keep them.

The Kubota family has not only been able to ride horses for generations, but also to practice riding and archery for generations... It is easy to imagine how rich the family background and martial arts atmosphere of Kubota Kiyone are.

A good family environment, a diligent and hardworking personality, coupled with his amazing talent... all of these factors combined to make him an encyclopedic martial arts master.

From a young age, he had been eagerly and tirelessly practicing martial arts.

Swordsmanship, spearmanship, archery, horsemanship, artillery... he accepts all kinds of skills.

According to statistics, the martial arts that Kubota Kiyone was proficient in included, but were not limited to: Tamiya-ryu Iaijutsu, Sekiguchi-ryu Jujutsu, Koshu-ryu Yamagata-den Heijutsu, Hozoin-ryu Spear Technique, Mugen Yume-ryu Spear Technique, Ogasawara-ryu Bow Technique, Hioki-ryu Bow Technique, Otsubo-ryu Ueda-ha Horsemanship, Gaiki-ryu Cannon Technique, Nojima-ryu Naval Technique, etc.

Any one of these is a profound martial art that an ordinary person would need to spend more than ten years, or even most of their life, to master.

A martial arts master, truly deserving of the title.

Unfortunately, he is quite old and now lives a secluded life, only making rare public appearances on very special occasions.

"Is everyone here?"

Seiichiro Otani's emotionless voice echoed inside and outside the dojo.

His beloved disciple, Kenji Sakakibara, who was sitting not far away, and was hailed as the "disciple of the Sword Saint," immediately replied:

"Master, everyone's here."

"Now that everyone's here, someone can explain to me what's going on with that scene outside?"

Ootani Seiichiro turned his gaze, scanning the area from left to right.

Nobuo Imai, who was the instigator, had no intention of deliberately hiding it.

When Ootani Seiichiro's gaze fell upon him, he smiled slightly and then said casually:

"Mr. Otani, we just wanted to give Niou a little surprise."

"A surprise? I think it's clearly a joke!"

Ootani Seiichiro frowned, his face showing displeasure.

"Quickly call all those people outside back here!"

Just as he finished speaking, hurried footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the corridor.

A young man who looked like an apprentice hurriedly entered the dojo.

"Lord Otani! Lord Kubota! He...he's here! He's here!"

……

……

When that tall figure appeared, wearing a snow hat, a burgundy haori, and two katana at his waist... the crowd's reaction was unexpectedly quiet.

Qingdeng's height was far above the average for men of that era, so it was impossible for him to hide his figure in a crowd.

The first people to spot him casually glanced at him, noticing his strikingly tall stature.

Upon recognizing who the visitors were, their expressions were quickly dominated by a variety of emotions, including surprise, excitement, and agitation.

Wow.

Like ripples created by the wind on a lake, the low murmur spread outwards without being overtly loud.

More and more people turned their heads in response to the sudden commotion, and their expressions became increasingly varied.

Strangely enough, despite the fact that Qing Deng's whereabouts had been exposed, the entire venue remained relatively silent.

No one was shouting.

No one voiced any untimely opinion.

Just as agreed beforehand, perhaps because they were "intimidated by Aoto's aura," or perhaps simply out of respect for Niou, in any case, everyone restrained their emotions to the greatest extent possible.

Anyone who happened to be standing in front of the platform would consciously and quietly move to the left and right, making way for a wide avenue for two adults to pass side by side.

And so, Qingdeng walked straight toward the gate of the military academy, stepping onto the avenue cleared by the crowd.

The two apprentices standing outside the door swallowed hard.

One of them, trying to remain calm, said loudly:

"Lord Niou! Lord Otani, Tatsuto Kubota, and our teachers, we have been waiting for you for a long time!"

After saying that, the two gatekeepers reached out and pushed open the gate at the same time, as if by unspoken agreement.

The main gate of the military academy faces west, with its back to the east.

In other words, when the door was pushed open, as the crack in the door was gradually widened, the warm winter sun hanging high in the sky, and the clear sky, which was dyed milky white by the slightly white sunlight, came into Qingdeng's eyes like a slowly unfolding scroll, giving him a feeling of "sudden enlightenment".

Sunlight streamed through the crack in the door, falling on him and gradually illuminating his face.

The spacious and clean Hakushu, the brick and stone roads connecting the venue, the sparse and well-arranged vegetation... it is a typical Japanese architectural structure that couldn't be more typical.

[Note: Hakushu is a paved area in front of a Japanese-style house, marked by white pebbles.]

However, there was one place that surprised Qingdeng and the onlookers outside.

"Oh?"

Qingdeng raised an eyebrow, a playful expression appearing on his face.

Both sides of Baizhou were lined with fully armed samurai. Roughly counted, there were about three hundred of them.

They all faced the brick road in the middle of Baizhou, swords in hand, blades held upright in front of their chests, tips pointing straight to the sky.

The swords in their hands and the armor on their bodies transformed into dazzling silver waves spreading in all directions in the morning light.

Judging from their age, they should be apprentices at the military academy.

To ensure the quality and loyalty of future officers in the shogunate army, the military academy selected only the best from among the bannermen.

Because the school recruited outstanding children from the banner families, the apprentices of the martial arts academy generally came from very good families, ate well, slept soundly, and were much taller and stronger than the average person.

Although their overall quality was far from that of a formidable force, their morale was undoubtedly much better than that of the idle, good-for-nothing young masters and the decadent, degenerate wanderers.

At this moment, the onlookers outside the gate began to peek over, noticing the strange noises coming from inside.

After seeing the scene inside the door, they were all greatly surprised.

More than three hundred heavily armed warriors, with their sheathed steel swords drawn, stood in neat rows, glaring menacingly at you... Don't underestimate such a sight.

Being intimidated by a powerful display of force—the best example of this is the famous historical event from two thousand years ago: Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin.

At that time, Qin Wuyang, who had killed someone at the age of 13 and whom no one dared to look directly at, was so frightened by the magnificent Qin King's entourage that he trembled all over and could not move as soon as he entered the Qin King's palace.

Although the formation put together by the apprentices of the Military Academy could not compare with the King of Qin's entourage, it was still something that ordinary people could not withstand.

Ordinary people would feel their legs go weak just from looking at them, let alone walking past them.

The onlookers outside were still dumbfounded... while Qingdeng had recovered from his initial surprise.

His expression remained unchanged compared to before.

If I had to put it into words... it would be that a faint, ambiguous smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He strode forward without flinching.

Just as one of his legs crossed the threshold, an invisible wave emanated from his body and spread forward...

……

……

Ootani Seiichiro's brow twitched suddenly.

At this moment, looking around the entire temple, he was not the only one whose expression suddenly changed.

Kuboda Kiyone, Oishi Susumu, Imai Nobuo, Sakakibara Kenkichi, Iba Hideaki... all of the most outstanding people in the military academy changed their expressions.

As if sensing something, they all raised their heads and looked in the direction of the gate.

“Imai-kun,” Kenjiro Sakakibara said with a smile, “your plan to ‘intimidate Nioh’ has probably failed.”

Nobuo Imai shrugged dismissively and grinned:

"Goodness, is this the kind of thing they're going to do... This is really beyond my expectations!"

At this moment, Oishi Susumu turned his head and addressed the apprentices remaining in the dojo and the academic instructors before him:

"Hey, you juniors and all you writers, get out of here right now, or your bodies won't be able to take it."

Someone asked in bewilderment:

"Huh? What do you mean by 'my body can't handle it'?"

"I'll explain later, but in any case, get as far away as possible."

No sooner had Daishi Jin finished speaking than a sudden, unusual noise attracted the attention of everyone present.

"Ugh...!"

An apprentice lay half-reclined on the ground, his face pale and his forehead covered in cold sweat.

The person sitting next to him immediately rushed to help him up:

"Hey! What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

This person's unusual behavior was just the beginning.

Like a chain reaction, more and more people collapsed to the ground, their faces contorted in pain.

"What's wrong... I feel so uncomfortable...!"

"Huff...! Huff...! Huff...! I can't breathe...!"

"My head... my head..."